Making Amulets

with Francesca Preston & Heather Bleasdell

What happens when you put a rock on top of another, gently? What happens when you bind red thread around a tooth and then wear it? Sew a seed and a word together, secretly? We will find out for ourselves, on November 21st, as a gathering of playful, enchanted, makerly souls.

An amulet is a poetic object—often worn by the maker, and used as a form of protection and reminder. The intention to make an amulet is to enter into a relationship with the elements, with what is undying and ancient, with the artistic language of prayer. In this class your hand will be encouraged to have a mind of its own, and you will be given the space to play with hallowed materials as you make your own amulets: to bind, stitch, felt, cut, knot, wrap, attach. NO SKILL REQUIRED. In fact, curiosity is the only thing you need to bring with you.

What we love about amulets is that they are perhaps best made with broken & priceless things, remnants, twigs, old buttons, scraps of a forgotten coat, words. They feel ancient. They seem to remind us that though we may have cars and homes and cell phones, spiritually we are nomadic beings, travelling through space and light. Some of the spirit of their making—the particular question or invocation of the artist—is stitched or bound into the amulet itself. Whispers, even. Water. Objects, as we, are transformed by love and attention.

In this workshop dreaminess will rule. We will find our amulets through group meditations, individual writing, and sheer dumb luck. There will be music! There will be poetry! And there will be the silent presence of all the other amulet-makers throughout time: the Ancient Egyptians, the Kalahari Bushmen, the Roma, the Tuareg, the Miwok & Ohlone.

All carefully-gleaned materials provided. Before the class participants will be sent questions, ideas, and images to inspire them. During the workshop we will share historical examples, as well as the amulets that we have made & collected throughout our lives.

On a Saturday from 10AM – 4PM @ Petaluma Art House

Cost: $85 (in advance) $100 (day of class). Space will be limited.

Work-study: one position available for this workshop

About the Teachers

Francesca Preston is a poet, essayist, artist, and traveler. The first amulet she made was composed of four tiny rocks glued together, which she gave to her grandmother. She has always been particularly attuned to the power of ordinary objects, and believes that even a bobby pin can be a thing of beauty and strangeness. Francesca lives in Berkeley and the foothills of the Sierras. amulets & photo: francesca preston

Heather Sullivan Bleasdell is an artist, mother and teacher living in Petaluma, California. Currently she works with clients one-on-one as an intuitive consultant and teaches classes in art, creativity, meditation & magic at the Petaluma Art House.  Her current obsessions include Little Red Riding Hood, forests, sewing, drawing, painting and trail running. She recently won her first 10k trail race and is very proud of her medal. You can learn more about her here and at http://www.heatherbleasdell.com

---